Charges dropped against Manatee fire commissioner

Published: Monday, March 25, 2013 at 5:49 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, March 25, 2013 at 5:49 p.m.

Former Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue commissioner Mark Ruben was released from custody Friday after spending 15 months in the Manatee County jail, accused of sexually abusing his three adopted children.

Prosecutors dropped all charges — eight capital felonies — because the case against him fell apart.

The investigation began after a local therapist, Steven Steiner, contacted the state abuse hotline, reporting that one of Ruben's three adopted children had possibly been the victim of sexual abuse.

Steiner declined to comment for this story.

Ruben, 46, denied the charges, but was arrested in January 2012 and held without bond on multiple counts of sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim less than 12 years old.

The lead prosecutor, Assistant State Attorney Daniel Yuter, said charges were dropped because the alleged victims refused to cooperate.

"In a nutshell, the children didn't want to talk about it, so we couldn't move forward with the case," Yuter said. "I believed the children's testimony at the time. That's why I filed the charges. Without their testimony, we didn't have a case."

Yuter acknowledged that one child had recanted.

"There are always going to be issues with cases, especially involving children and testimony," he said.

Yuter said he has never had to drop eight capital felonies before.

According to a memo Yuter filed last week, Ruben's defense team was scheduled to depose the three children. Yuter scheduled "deposition preparation interviews" with the children first.

"Two of the three victims refused to leave the lobby area of the State Attorney's Office to discuss the case with the undersigned attorney," Yuter wrote in the memo, adding that the victim's mother said the children no longer wanted to testify.

Yuter himself initially interviewed the three children during "pre-filing investigative interviews" conducted before he filed charges.

Yuter said he does not believe the children were coached into making the allegations.

He also said he does not regret filing charges.

"There's no way to foresee that something like this would happen," Yuter said. "We had enough info. We did what we had to do. Nothing is unexpected in these type of cases."

Ruben had served as a paid, elected commissioner for the Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue District since 2000.

Jon Weiffenbach, Ruben's defense attorney, said the state's entire case was based on testimony of the three children.

"There was no physical evidence or witnesses and no statements made by my client," he said. "The evidence showed the kids recanted on a number of occasions and changed their stories."

Weiffenbach said a pending divorce may have spawned the allegations.

"There was definitely a dissolution pending," he said. "When one child was asked why they were changing their story, they said they made it up because they were mad at their father — their father yelled a lot. It was a contentious marriage."

Ruben was placed on suspension after he was arrested. Gov. Rick Scott signed an executive order prohibiting Ruben from serving in a public office or receiving pay during the indefinite suspension.

<p>Former Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue commissioner Mark Ruben was released from custody Friday after spending 15 months in the Manatee County jail, accused of sexually abusing his three adopted children.</p><p>Prosecutors dropped all charges — eight capital felonies — because the case against him fell apart.</p><p>The investigation began after a local therapist, Steven Steiner, contacted the state abuse hotline, reporting that one of Ruben's three adopted children had possibly been the victim of sexual abuse.</p><p>Steiner declined to comment for this story. </p><p>Ruben, 46, denied the charges, but was arrested in January 2012 and held without bond on multiple counts of sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim less than 12 years old. </p><p>The lead prosecutor, Assistant State Attorney Daniel Yuter, said charges were dropped because the alleged victims refused to cooperate.</p><p>"In a nutshell, the children didn't want to talk about it, so we couldn't move forward with the case," Yuter said. "I believed the children's testimony at the time. That's why I filed the charges. Without their testimony, we didn't have a case." </p><p>Yuter acknowledged that one child had recanted.</p><p>"There are always going to be issues with cases, especially involving children and testimony," he said.</p><p>Yuter said he has never had to drop eight capital felonies before.</p><p>According to a memo Yuter filed last week, Ruben's defense team was scheduled to depose the three children. Yuter scheduled "deposition preparation interviews" with the children first.</p><p>"Two of the three victims refused to leave the lobby area of the State Attorney's Office to discuss the case with the undersigned attorney," Yuter wrote in the memo, adding that the victim's mother said the children no longer wanted to testify. </p><p>Yuter himself initially interviewed the three children during "pre-filing investigative interviews" conducted before he filed charges. </p><p>Yuter said he does not believe the children were coached into making the allegations. </p><p>He also said he does not regret filing charges.</p><p>"There's no way to foresee that something like this would happen," Yuter said. "We had enough info. We did what we had to do. Nothing is unexpected in these type of cases." </p><p>Ruben had served as a paid, elected commissioner for the Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue District since 2000. </p><p>Jon Weiffenbach, Ruben's defense attorney, said the state's entire case was based on testimony of the three children.</p><p>"There was no physical evidence or witnesses and no statements made by my client," he said. "The evidence showed the kids recanted on a number of occasions and changed their stories." </p><p>Weiffenbach said a pending divorce may have spawned the allegations. </p><p>"There was definitely a dissolution pending," he said. "When one child was asked why they were changing their story, they said they made it up because they were mad at their father — their father yelled a lot. It was a contentious marriage."</p><p>Ruben was placed on suspension after he was arrested. Gov. Rick Scott signed an executive order prohibiting Ruben from serving in a public office or receiving pay during the indefinite suspension.</p>